March Madness

Fishing Update:

After real winter finally arrived in late January and February. The first March heat wave has our rivers open and fishable. While colder temps this week will prevent runoff, we might see a little re-freeze on some of the colder rivers like the Saco. However larger rivers like the Andro should remain ice free from here on out. Fishing can be surprisingly good in Late March as moderate temps allow water temps to rise without causing excessive snowmelt.

Why March:

While some rivers stay ice free through winter many rivers in northern New England do freeze up and become unfishable through the dead of winter. Even rivers that do remain ice free are brutal to fish under the extremely cold temperatures of Late January and mid-February. While a warm up at any time of winter can offer great opportunities for fishing, those chances increase dramatically with the longer daylight hours and freeze thaw cycles that we see in March. Consider any days that are good for Maple Syruping as good days for fishing. When day time highs rise above freezing, they allow water temps to bump up just enough for prey to move about and fish metabolisms to increase. When temps drop below freezing at night, they prevent snowmelt from choking streams with cold high water that can slow the bite during spring runoff.

A handsome wild brown trout caught fishing a slow seam late in the day March 2021.

An increase in food availability:

As water temps and daylight increase, early season hatches of midges, winter caddis, and early dark stoneflies increase in volume. Along with these obvious food sources, less obvious hatches of trout fry, minnow fry, crayfish, leeches, and sculpin are also taking place. Coupled with increasing fish metabolisms, after a time low fishing pressure, March offers some of the best opportunities at hooking into the largest fish of the year.

Think slow and go slow:

While waters are warming and fish are becoming more active this is not to say that fish will be particularly aggressive. Here in NE a bump in water temps can mean 35 degrees instead of 33 degrees. Both prey items and the fish that feed on them will be moving slow. Consequently, Nymphing and fishing streamers with slow swings or jig retrieves will be key to success on most days. Focusing on slower water types: larger pools, tail outs, and inside seems will put you on more fish. If you see insects hatching look closely for lazy subtle rises in the slow back eddies and slick water where hatched, or hatching insects will collect in high densities.

A wild rainbow trout caught swinging a large black bugger in the tailout of a pool March 2021.

Effects of the weather:

While most March days will offer bite windows, those windows will vary in length and depend greatly on changing water temps and weather. A day with warmer temps and cloud cover might fish longer and earlier than a sunny cooler day with clouds building late in the day. For instance, last Thursday we fished from 9am to 5pm and all of our fish were caught between 2pm and 4:30pm when a low-pressure system blocked the sun and water temps had maxed out for the day. Conversely on our previous trip we caught fish early before a cold front blew in around noon and killed the bite.

Some fish just eat when other don’t:

Like people all fish are different. I’ve come to learn that even when the fishing is slow there is often at least one fish that behaves counter to that of the others. So even when you think the bite is off it pays to stay focused and fish hard. Sometimes the biggest fish in the pool is the one who is hungry.

A good time for experimentation:

Early season days are some of my favorite times of the year to experiment with fly choice and design. First, most of the food items available to fish at this time are not obvious or conventional, playing with parr patterns, crayfish, and articulated nymphs has been a fun way to find success on days where no obvious hatches distract me from thinking outside of the box. Sometimes these flies become specifically effective in the early season while others become staples for finding fish between hatches season long.

This thick wild brown gobbled a black bugger. Caught March 2021.

Bonus Days:

While many anglers are still skiing, or tying flies, wetting a line before the major spring hatches can offer chances at fish that are feeding before the majority of anglers are ready to fish. If you want to get an early start to the season give us a shout and we’ll get you a day on the water.

Tight Lines,

Nate

January Report

January Report

Happy 2021 everyone! We are looking forward to seeing many of you again this year! We have been blessed with great winter fishing conditions to start the New Year.

Current Winter Conditions:

Right now, we continue to see above normal daytime temps with flows moderating after the last late December rainstorm. Our moderate snowpack has been melting slightly each day which has kept river flows at ideal winter fishing levels. Ice on freestone streams like the Saco has been minimal allowing opportunities to float water that is often completely iced over in January. These options coupled with dam-controlled rivers and streams have given us good options for winter fishing.

Fish have been taken on medium sized sculpin and minnow patterns along with eggs, and prince nymphs. Fishing slower deeper pools along with the slower sides of sunny riffle water has all produced fish. Best bite windows have been from 10am till dark. First light can also produce eats but we prefer giving the air a chance to warm up.

Why Winter?

Often times when we mention fishing in January people wince at the thought of cold hands and fingers and few fish to the boat. While winter fishing can be cold and challenging, these colder months can offer chances at the biggest fish in the river. Why is this? Well during prime time many larger trout shift their feeding to night time, when waters cool and larger prey items are more vulnerable (ie. Mice and other trout). While good hatches and high water can certainly bring about excellent prime time opportunities for large trout you will need to weed through average size fish to find alpha trout. While this isn’t a negative for most anglers it does make landing a large fish more difficult. Freshly stocked fish that arrive on our local rivers in June and July often get to our flies before the more cautious wild and holdover trout. Stocked trout also represent an abundant food source for large trout, providing such easy meals that Alpha trout become full and are less likely to chase smaller food items. Fishing an 8” trout pattern shortly after the stocking trucks roll is probably your best chance, but there are few fish more difficult to catch than a wise old trout with a full belly.

A fine winter rainbow that ate a jig style streamer in the middle of the day. Big fish like this need to feed more often in colder water than smaller fish.

Skiing conditions got you down? Go fishing!

To be honest I didn’t always fish that much during winter months. For most of my life an obsession with skiing distracted me from the water from December through March. Over the past few years my obsession with fishing began to distract me from the slopes. My winter fishing has taught me that when ski conditions are less than ideal, I would much rather be on the water.

HCG guide Kevin Gordon with an average sized winter brown.

 In winter milder days bump water temps and get large fish feeding on smaller more abundant prey items that require less energy expenditure to catch than bigger prey items. The months of January, February and March are also a time when large brown and brook trout are desperate to put on weight after their fall spawn and rainbow trout are packing on weight for their spring spawn. While cold water temps do slow fish metabolisms the largest fish in the river require more food than smaller fish to keep their body weight up in the winter time. Thus, you are more likely to get attention from a larger fish than a smaller fish in winter.

Fewer food items:

While prime time conditions offer trout a veritable buffet of food options this diversity in biomass means that trout have the luxury of becoming picky eaters. A large trout might refuse all bugs except one…or simply decide to focus on eating large mice at night. Conversely when bug activity is limited fish must eat what they can find. Eggs, midges, worms, stoneflies, crayfish, and smaller baitfish provide hard to refuse meals when large trout need to feed in the winter. If you do see a hatch in winter it is usually of one specific bug like a midge, early dark stonefly or winter caddis making matching the hatch much less complicated.

Less angling pressure:

The fact that few anglers are willing to brave the cold weather, means that fish are less pressured and therefore more likely to mistake your flies as food.

Less variability in conditions:

In winter water flows are usually relatively stable with little rain or snowmelt resulting in high water, and water temps usually fluctuate less than in summer months. This allows fish to get into more consistent rhythms and results in predictable bite windows and holding water.  

Keep the faith and keep throwing:

While some winter days can provide good fishing for hours on end, it is common for winter bite windowns to be short and spread out. If you’ve gone hours without a bite resist the urge to call it a day. Often times it isn’t where you are fishing or what you are throwing but rather that the fish are between feedings.

Brian Boyle with a seriously large male brown caught yesterday at the end of a slow day of fishing. Often the biggest fish eat right when water temps hit their peak for the day.

Slow down:

Fish the slower water and when retrieving flies retrieve them slowly. Fish can be deep or shallow but they aren’t likely to move quickly to intercept a fly.

Preparation and timing are key:

While there are certainly winter days that are downright brutal for fishing there are also plenty of days that are mild enough to provide a surprisingly comfortable fishing experience. We’ve found that a calm winter day with highs between 30-40 degrees is very comfortable for fishing. Wearing nitril gloves to prevent hands from getting wet is crucial and carrying the following items will ensure the comfort and endurance you need for a successful winter trout hunt:

Clothing:

·         Heavy winter socks

·         Long underwear or insulated pants

·         Waders or high boots like muck boots (as long as you don’t plan to wade fish)

·         Rubber or studded rubber boots (felt is deadly on snow and ice)

·         Hat

·         Spare gloves and mittens, (mittens are a great accessory to get hands warm if they do get cold)

·         Winter hat

·         Down jacket (down jackets provide excellent insulations and better range of motion than heavy insulated clothing)

·         Sunglasses

·         Hand warmers

·         Synthetic layers (Changing temps and activity levels make having layers you can shed or add throughout the day essential

·         Balaclava or neck warmer

Food:

·         Easy to access snacks (bars, nuts, anything that isn’t hard to open or access)

·         Something warm (a thermos of soup or just hot tea goes a long way)

·         Plenty of water( dehydration can sneak up on you in the winter force yourself to drink water and don’t be afraid to ask your guide if you need a pee break)

Looking forward:

The weather over the next week will be consistent with highs in the 30’s and light winds, ideal conditions for winter fishing. We have dates available between now and late January so let us know if you want to get out!

Tight Lines,

Nate

December Report

Thank you all for making 2020 bearable!

What a year it has been. From the stress of the pandemic to the surprisingly busy guiding season. We are very thankful to all of you who cautiously made it up to fish with us this season. Thank you for helping keep us afloat through these unpredictable times. We also want to thank those who planned to fish with us but could not due to health risks. We hope you stayed healthy this year and look forward to seeing you in 2021! We want to let you know that Hill Country Guides will remain open year round for guiding through the winter months and early spring. We’ve spent the past few years exploring fishing options for late fall, winter and early spring. With our knowledge and help of our StealthCraft skinny skiff these colder months provide us opportunities to guide you over some very large fish. Speaking of which…on to the December report!

Kevin Brandon with a hard earned pike. We lost a few early in the day and finally landed one in the last hour!

We have spent the months of November and December researching New Hampshire’s pike fisheries. We took this year to really dial in this fishing because our new Stealth Skinny skiff is the perfect craft to explore these waters. The challenge of pike fishing lies in finding the best holding water for these Apex predators and being in that zone when the bite turns on. Like all apex predators pike don’t eat all the time but when they do it is some of the most intense fishing we have found. It is common to go from catching nothing for hours to landing multiple fish over 30” in a matter of minutes. Pike prefer to ambush prey and when water is cold their prey are slow moving. Fishing neutrally buoyant fallfish, trout and perch imitations with a slow strip and pause retrieve is most effective. When pike strike you will often simply feel a subtle bump as the fish inhales your fly. At this time the key is to pause before striking with a strong strip set. Once a pike is hooked strip as hard as you can until the pike is in the net. I write this advice in hopes that some of you will read it and begin to mentally prepare for your first pike trip with us. It is a challenging, exhilarating and rewarding pursuit.

HCG Guide Kevin Gordon with a fine December specimen.

As waters cool pike remain active but bite during even more specific time periods. While the fishing can be slow, we were able to land at least one pike on all of our trips through mid-December. The best fishing we’ve had this fall was last week.  This bite coincided specifically with the new moon and when we saw ideal conditions emerge for Monday, December 13th we reached out to interested clients and booked the day with Chris Piatek and his son Sabin.  Chis and Sabin landed 5 pike in the first hour of fishing with two fish at 34” and 36” respectively. While smaller pike are often quick to surrender, fish over 30” will put an 11wt to the test. Luckily both Chris and Sabin had experience fighting large fish and were able to keep the pressure on.  The bite lasted from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and then the fish shut off. We probably could have hit a bite right at dark but we were all satisfied with the day.

Sabin Piatek with a 36 “ beast caught on December 14th.

While many view fishing in the winter as a crazy endeavor I’ve fallen in love with these short but adrenaline filled days. Hitting the water during these colder months can be an incredible experience as long as you prepare for the day. Since we fish from the boat, waders are not required but heavy pants and boots are a must along with nitrile gloves to keep your hands dry and fingerless wool gloves to keep hands warm. This is a great time of the year to keep a close eye on the forecast and book days last minute that are on the warmer side. A calm day in the mid-30’s is quite comfortable if you dress correctly. We have the ability to guide on most days this winter so let us know if you see a day that looks good. We’ll keep you posted for ideal days on our Instagram page.

Chris Piatek with a girthy specimen that shreded his 10 inch fly (note the material hanging from this fish’s lip).

Looking forward:

We have one more pike trip this Tuesday December 20th. We will be out tomorrow scouting to make sure we can navigate the boat around or through any ice that has formed this week. We will probably have too much ice to target pike shortly but we will be prepared to hit pike water any time we have a thaw. That being said trout season opens on January 1st for ALL waters in the state. Last year we found some very large trout willing to eat in January. We plan to spend the first two weeks of January scouting trout water and will begin offering winter trips starting mid-January. We have a high level of confidence in this fishing and want to test out some theories before we begin guiding. We will keep you all posted as we explore winter fishing options and we recommend following our Instagram page @HillCountryGuides for even more up to date reports.

Winter is a great time to target trout that are measured in pounds rather than inches.

Gift Certificates:

We are currently offering gift certificates for the 2021 season. We can send gift certificates via pdf so if you are looking for a last minute gift that will arrive before Christmas we’ve got you covered!

Happy Holidays! Hope to see many of you in 2021!

Tight lines,

Nate

November = Time For Pike...And More Trout

While it has been a while since I have posted a report it is not due to lack of time on the water. We’ve been busy over the last month guiding over trout and scouting for pike. As is always the case with November we have had a wide range of conditions over the past month.

In Review:

The end of October provided a few opportunities to explore some new trout water and I was able to get one day on the water guiding for landlocked salmon. We were able to land one very nice hen and saw a few other nice fish come unbuttoned. A warmer than normal November has given us some unusually comfortable days for trout trips as of late. We’ve been happy to give people a late shot of vitamin D and bent rods over the last week. When not guiding over trout we’ve been exploring some of our local pike fisheries.

A landlocked salmon from this past season. We have good opportunities for these fish in April, May, and October.

Trout report:

Nymphing has been our most productive method when chasing rainbows and browns over the past few weeks. Mop flies, eggs, worms, prince nymphs and hellgrammite patterns have all been productive. Honestly any fly that has a high protein profile with good inanimate movement in the water seems to get the job done. Trout have definitely moved out of the fastest water and are concentrated in the larger pools, such as below dams and anywhere the river slows and deepens. Fishing the slower edges of bigger riffles and slow pockets near faster water has also been productive. Swinging streamers such as spruce flies, buggers, and zonkers has also been productive, especially on warmer days. With last nights rain fishing might be slow until flows start dropping. As flows drop nymphing with worms and eggs should get some eats as fish will be looking for these food items in the run-off.

A custom hellgrammite jig that has been deadly this fall.

A fine Bow from late October….view our instagram page for more recent pics!

Tom Pines with a nice brown from a mid-November float trip.

Kevin O’brien with a fine wild bow from an early November float trip.

 Pike Report

While we’ve been guiding for trout, we’ve spent our research days focused on chasing pike on the fly. Many do not realize that pike are a cold-water fish and prefer water temps below 55 degrees. In summer months pike spend most of their time hunkered down in the deepest parts of the river. As fall arrives, and waters cool they move to banks and drop offs where they can ambush baitfish that winter over in these slower warmer parts of the river. Locating areas where there are good ambush points is key to finding pike. Aquatic vegetation, drop-offs and woody debris can all provide ambush points for pike. The challenge lies in determining which type of structure pike prefer on any given day, or time of year. Sometimes they will be tight to woody debris while other times pike will prefer to hold on drop offs, still other times they will concentrate in shallows and backwaters.

HCG guide Kevin Gordon with a thick Pike. This fish maxed out the 10wt with four blistering runs.

When it comes to fly selection, Pike offer a refreshing simplicity compared to trout. In designing flies for pike, the focus lies in producing baitfish patterns that kick, hover, and stall over the bottom. While trout flies are often designed to get to depth, pike flies are designed to suspend. A suspending fly Allows the angler to animate the fly with even the slowest retrieves.  A fly that suspends well and has bulk up front to provide a good “kick” also allows anglers to slow twitch a fly when a picky fish is in pursuit. To facilitate the puppet mastery of presenting a pike fly, attention to rod and line selection is paramount. We have found that a stiff 9 or 10 weight rod, coupled with an intermediate or full sink fly line allows for the best control of pike flies, both when casting and retrieving.  The Thomas and Thomas Exocett Predator rod was designed to deliver large bulky flies with control and ease while also providing the stiffness needed to twitch the fly and set the hook on a fish that has far more teeth than flesh. The Rio Costal Quickshoot intermediate line or Scientific anglers Sonar Intermediate lines are good choices for pike that are suspended in less than 6 feet of water. To fish deeper water a 400 grain Sonar or Orvis pro streamer line will get the job done.

HCG guides Nate Hill and Kevin Gordon with the rewards of a day hunting for pike.

The art of hooking and fighting Pike is a challenging one to master. For one thing pike will often swipe at your fly multiple times before inhaling. It is very common to set the hook too quickly on the first bump, moving the fly out of the strike zone. When a fish is in pursuit try slowing the retrieve and impart small twitches to trigger a strike, rather than the erratic jerky retrieves that you would use to entice a trout. Sometimes the act of simply stopping your retrieve is the key to getting an eat. Detecting the eat is obvious when the fish is in sight but sometimes surprisingly subtle when the fish is out of visible range. Pike often take the fly coming straight towards you, giving the feeling of zero resistance on the retrieve. If you feel any change in resistance take a deep breath to give the mouth time to close and then strip HARD. Once a pike is hooked a low rod angle and hard pressure are key to keeping the hook set.

An average sized pike is in the 26”-30” inch range.

When landing pike a very large net, a pair of long pliers and hopefully barbless hooks will allow for a safe release and “fewer” teeth wounds to the angler.

 For the best bite windows look for calm cloudy days during minor moon phases. Fortunately, even on sunny days it is common to get at least a few pike to eat, especially as the sun begins to dip in the afternoon. If you’d like to take a shot at chasing pike this fall, we still have a few dates open. We will guide these trips right up until the waters freeze in December.

UPDATED COVID 19 Protocols:

With covid-19 case numbers on the rise we will continue to follow our covid guidelines. We ask that all clients wear masks when in vehicles. We are now requesting that all clients bring masks on the boat and wear them for the duration of the trip. We have previously allowed masks to be taken off when outside but feel that the nation wide rise in cases over the past few days warrants further precautions. Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions about our covid protocols.

Tight lines,

Nate

October = Streamer time

In Review

We had a great month of September throwing dries to wild rainbows, landlocked salmon and brown trout. Now it is October and we have been doing a lot more streamer fishing. While BWO hatches will still bring fish to the surface, water temps in the lower 50’s have fish hunting for bigger meals. Nymphing still has its place and larger offerings such as stoneflies, hellgrammites, eggs, worms and mops will get the job done.

Alec caught this fine wild rainbow nymphing the head of a large pool. This fish put up an incredible fight.

Client Rob Wolfchuck gave guide Nate Hill a chance at this dry fly eater in early October.

Late Season Trout Fishing

While many people associate streamer fishing with high water, fish will also take streamers in low water when conditions are favorable. In fall this is especially true as fish are hunting for larger meals to store up calories for the winter. Also, browns and brook trout are generally more aggressive as they get ready to spawn.

While rivers like the Saco have been on the lower side of average, rivers like the Andro, while not high, are still running at 1,000 cfs on average. This is plenty of water to throw larger buggers, muddlers, zonkers, and zoo cougar style flies on sink tips and full sink lines. In skinnier water or when the sun is bright, we have done better by sizing down our offerings to smaller muddlers, wood-duck herron flies, woods specials, and olive leech patterns.

Client Kevin O’brien had this fish smash a small streamer rigth as a thunderstorm was rolling in.

With just a few days left of the regular trout season it looks like a shot of rain today may give us one more chance at streamer fishing on the Saco and its tributaries. Late season rains like this are some of the best times of the year to get larger trout.

As the storm got closer we switched to a larger Mallard’s Better Baitfish pattern and this fish crushed it!

Although the regular trout season closes on October 15th, we will continue to guide on the Lower Androscoggin which remains open year-round. Late October and November offer some of the best chances of the year to chase larger trout on streamers.

Extended Season Landlocked Salmon Fishing

If we get enough rain, we will venture over to some of our lake tributaries that remain open through October 31st for landlocked salmon and rainbow trout. With the current forecast it looks like this fishing will turn on any day now.

HCG Guide Kevin Gordon with a LL Salmon caught in mid-October of 2019. This fishing should turn on any day now!

Time For Pike!

With the help of our new Stealthcraft Skinny Skiff we will be scouting out the NH pike fisheries this fall and plan to begin guiding for pike asap. We will keep you posted on our progress!

Mountain High Fly Owner Jon Zukowski with an October Pike from 2019. We’ll be hunting these fish in the coming weeks!

While the foliage is almost over the fishing season will last on. We hope you all stay safe and healthy, and keep fishing as you are able. Let us know if you want to get out before the snow flies!

Tight Lines,

Nate

Tight lines,

Nate